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AMERICANISM 

the 

RELIGION of MANKIND 

BY 

MOSES STEINBERG 


7133^ WEST SARATOGA ST. 
BALTIMORE, MD. 

1920 














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AMERICANISM 

the 

RELIGION of MANKIND 

BY 

MOSES STEINBERG 


7 i 3 y 2 WEST SARATOGA ST. 
BALTIMORE, MD. 




Copyright, 1920, 
by Moses Steinberg 
Baltimore 



DEC -7 1920 

© Cl. A 6 0 4 4 5 6 

fK» j 



FOREWORD 


Picture an ancient structure which, built upon a 
rock-solid foundation, has been subjected to season¬ 
able repairs and remodeling, until its old magnificence 
has disappeared, and finally the ravages of time ex¬ 
pose it to the danger of collapse. Is it not admittedly 
wise to do away with the old structure and build a 
new one upon the same or a similar solid foundation 
in order that it may meet the requirements of its use? 

Anyone who is aware of present-day conditions 
can not fail to regard religion as in the position of 
the building mentioned in the above illustration; yet 
it must be admitted that the decalogue, as the foun¬ 
dation of religion, is still as solid as when it was 
promulgated from Sinai. 

Observing that the promise of reward or the 
threat of punishment; that the efforts put forth to 
make people believe in the existence of a place be¬ 
sides Heaven, to prevent immorality and insure their 
abstention from all evil deeds, commonly called sin, 
have remained unheeded; that vice of all kinds is 
conspicuously seen to be increasing almost daily—all 
this indicates the necessity of a change in the method 


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of teaching religion, and that is, to inculcate con¬ 
viction instead of belief. 

The conception of the blessing of a humanity 
united through understanding and the conviction that 
Americanism alone can make this possible, are the 
motives that have inspired the writing of what 
follows. 


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ELIGION is a word of multi¬ 
tudinous conceptions and be¬ 
liefs; but its failure through 
centuries of propagation, in 
its two great objects, viz: to 
inculcate belief in God and 
enforce the observance of the 
moral code, renders it utterly 
meaningless. 

That religion is a complete failure from the moral 
standpoint is a fact only too obvious to the average 
mind. The ever-growing waves of crime, the court 
dockets overburdened with the most unspeakable 
cases of vice, the ever-increasing necessity for new 
legislation to enforce the moral code, the constant 
popular cry of inefficient police departments, the daily 
outcropping of reformers and the subsequent demand 
for super-reformers to reform the reformers—all 
these prove, beyond doubt, that religion is an im¬ 
potent factor and that it functions only to disintegrate 
humanity into races, sects, creeds and denominations. 

The Cause of the Downfall of Religion 

To those who do not indulge in the study of words 
may be cited, as an example of the paramount im¬ 
portance ofttimes attached to one word, or collection 
of words that, as legend has it, the world was created 
by word; and the tendency up to the present day to 
lay great stress upon one’s word is another example. 
One word caused the downfall of religion and that 
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word is belief—because belief, the inconceivable and 
the impossible, has been preached instead of con¬ 
viction, the reasonable and comprehensible. 

Belief not only in God, but also in a man God, 
in saints, in atmosphere and what not, has been 
preached unavailingly for centuries, for we find our¬ 
selves to-day part of an absolutely disbelieving 
humanity. Even among those who openly profess 
their religious beliefs, probably because of their un¬ 
consciousness of the perplexity of mind, there are 
practically few who sincerely believe; else, were it 
otherwise, why do we find so much evil within the 
immediate ranks of these believers? What good is 
it to proclaim belief and at the same time be in viola¬ 
tion of the commandments? Either they believe in 
evil, or disbelieve all. The latter view, seemingly, 
is preferable, for the human instinct is against belief. 
The fact that man has been elevated from the 
beast by virtue of the quintessence, which enables 
him to comprehend, to discriminate, to adjudge, to 
form an opinion and to be convinced, may safely be 
advanced as a logical reason in proof of the im¬ 
possibility of belief. 

Belief is the direct guide to bigotry and fanaticism, 
and the havoc suffered by humanity, through the 
ages, from all sorts of religious fanaticism is beyond 
description. The belief that one’s conception of re¬ 
ligion and the divinity is superior sets him, in his 
own opinion, spiritually and intellectually above his 
neighbor of different belief, with the result that the 
seeds of prejudice are unconsciously deep planted. 
In the belief that they were purifying souls, ecclesias¬ 
tics burned human beings of another faith at the 
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stake. In the belief that God would sanction their 
deeds, the men responsible for the yet unfinished 
human slaughter began that greatest of world con¬ 
flicts. It is the preachings and teachings of belief 
or beliefs which have created for us a form of re¬ 
ligion in which we preach altruism and practice 
ostracism; preach love and practice abhorrence; lay 
claim to the highest idealism and lead lives of the 
most selfish egotism. 

The idea that conviction and not belief is the basic 
fundamental of religion could be supported by nu¬ 
merous quotations from the Bible, but because every 
word, every meaning of the Bible has been inter¬ 
preted and misinterpreted so frequently, it is deemed 
advisable to omit those quotations. The Bible in its 
most important form serves to define and interpret 
the practicability of the laws of man as expressed in 
the decalogue. Why would it not be practical to 
write a new Bible—based upon the same principles, 
rendering interpretations of the commandments in 
conformity with present-day conditions, in a lan¬ 
guage of not “thou sayeth,” but “you said it”? 

Love } Religion and Americanism 

The term love has been used as a more compre¬ 
hensive interpretation of religion, but seemingly 
never properly interpreted, so as to enable it to be 
put into practice. The first cohesion of religion and 
love is conveyed in the biblical doctrine of “Love 
thy neighbor as THYSELF.” In view of the vary¬ 
ing conceptions of the numerous existing forms of 
expressions of love, the question arises, How shall 
we love our neighbors? Under prevailing condi- 
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tions and bearing in mind individual propensities and 
inclinations, we find ourselves loving those who are 
not our neighbors, while holding feelings for neigh¬ 
bors which are far removed from that sentiment. 

The second and what is termed a more advanced 
form of love is the scriptural “Love Thine Enemy.” 
Though this doctrine bears a generous appearance, 
its genuineness has been completely disproved by the 
attitude of man to man and nation toward nation. 
Taking the great war as an example, it may be right¬ 
fully said: That in their determination to love their 
enemies, they have destroyed their neighbors. There 
can be only one interpretation of “Love Thy Neigh¬ 
bor as Thyself,” which would make it feasible; and 
that is when by it is meant: give your neighbor the 
same rights as you would take for yourself. 

Americanism, whose basic fundamental is equality 
of rights to all irrespective of race, color, religion 
or nationality, is the first and only ideal which in 
word and deed rendered the correct interpretation 
of love. In other words, Americanism, in itself an 
ideal, has made possible the practicability of what is 
regarded as the highest religious doctrine—one that 
could not be accomplished by the preaching and 
teaching of ecclesiasts and theologians all through 
the ages. 

The reason why religion is still in existence, 
though in name only, is because it has always diplo¬ 
matically sided with the strong, with those in power, 
forsaking the weak and the helpless. Thus religion 
has sanctioned the inhuman deeds of Czars, Kings, 
Kaisers, etc., at all times. In a democratic country 
where, unfortunately, the plutocracy dominates the 
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courts of justice, which interpret the laws of the land 
in their favor, we find religion working harmoniously 
with them. 

It is deplorable indeed, when we think of the great 
fathers of this country, who fought and died for 
freedom of thought, as evidenced by their abolition 
of all sorts of religious persecution, in order to 
Americanize religion, that we at present are trying 
to religionize America! If we are true and sincere 
in boasting of our patriotism, if we glory in the 
memory of the great fathers of this country and the 
noble cause they fought and died for, let us follow 
in their footsteps and amplify the Americanization 
of religion by making the basic fundamentals of re¬ 
ligion synonymous with the fundamentals of Ameri¬ 
canism. These do not imply any particular belief, 
but are fully convincing when properly interpreted 
and applied, thus defining religion as a faith that a 
patriotic American would be proud to adhere to. 

There are other defective standards of the present 
social order which suggest the unification of Ameri¬ 
canism and religion. These could be modified so 
as to be made acceptable to the strongest supporters 
of the separation of religion from state. An outline 
of the ideas to which the consideration of these 
matters gives rise, as well as a suggestion of the 
necessary amendment to the Constitution of the 
United States to carry them into effect, will be given 
in subsequent paragraphs. 

Law and Obedience 

Municipal, state and federal legislative bodies are 
continually engaged in an endless process of passing 
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and enacting laws upon their respective statute books 
applying to every phase of life in such numbers that 
at present one can hardly walk ten paces, or utter ten 
words, without being in violation of some one of 
these laws. And, egregiously, whether a city ordi¬ 
nance, or a state or federal law, no problem has 
been solved. Rather a new problem arises as to 
how to enforce this law. In some instances, the 
problem of enforcement is being debated and dis¬ 
cussed even before the passage of the law,' or simul¬ 
taneously with its passage. Why is it that a law 
passed by a body of legislators representing a govern¬ 
ment by the people and for the people should have 
to be enforced upon the people? Are the American 
people disobedient? On the contrary, the American 
people have, in many instances, individually and col¬ 
lectively, demonstrated not only obedience to law, 
but also the virtues of self-denial and self-sacrifice 
for any worthy cause. Moreover, the passage of 
some laws of recent date and amendments to the 
federal constitution recently adopted prove that a 
majority of the citizens of America have sacrificed 
some of their personal liberties in favor of a 
minority. Such a people certainly must be conceded 
to be lawful and obedient. What then makes 
necessary the enforcement of these laws, which might 
be expected to be cheerfully obeyed by a law-abiding 
people? 

The answer can be found in the following reasons: 
First, every law in force has not been passed and 
enacted because it has met with the approval of the 
majority of the people, but because of the influence 
of a few; and in some instances, the passage of a law 


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could be accredited solely to the oratorical ability 
and social standing of the one who sponsored and 
advocated it, not to mention those laws passed 
through the direct influence and activities of re¬ 
ligious, political and financial interests. Second, 
most of the laws appear to be contrary to justice. 
Whether this is due to the manner or circumstances 
in which the law was passed or the ambiguity of its 
wording must be determined in each case individu¬ 
ally. Justice! A thing everybody craves and de¬ 
mands. Furthermore, while each party to a suit 
makes such interpretations of the law as will allow 
it to claim justice on its side and while in every case 
of opposing opinions and disagreement, law inter¬ 
venes with its stern decision in giving satisfaction to 
only one side, this most naturally causes discontent 
on the losing side and leads to the necessity of the 
law being enforced, instead of being obeyed. 

For the solution of the problem as to how justice 
can be done to all, one need only look upon the 
symbol or emblem of justice, the statue holding a pair 
of scales with the indicator pointing to the exact 
centre, meaning equal weight on each side of the 
scale, yet blindfolded and unable to see whether the 
contents on each side are of equal value. It seems 
to be advisable that those who are in a position to 
dispense justice should see to it that the contents of 
each side of the scale should, at least, be of com¬ 
paratively the same value. It appears that, for in¬ 
stance, in every case of disagreement between capital 
and labor, or in other words, dollars and cents versus 
human efforts, it would be doing justice when the 
latter is given preference by law. 


Misunderstanding 

All the miseries of life, in most cases, are due to 
misunderstanding. Misunderstanding between dif¬ 
ferent religious creeds or denominations, although 
each claims to serve the same God, the same ideal; 
between husband and wife, although each claims 
adherence to the admonition to love, honor and 
obey, yet accuses the other of neglect; between em¬ 
ployer and employe, although the purpose of both 
is to work harmoniously together, in order to derive 
the utmost benefits from their combined efforts; be¬ 
tween capital and labor, although each claims to 
serve country and humanity. Misunderstanding of 
law, justice, equality, propensities and inclinations of 
individuals, nations and chiefly of ourselves. And 
this venomous and infectious fomenter of human 
misery and discontent is gaining fresh impetus in its 
destructive accomplishments by widening the gap in 
the human mind, in the daily rise of the so-called 
new ideals, due chiefly to the dissent from the moral 
code and complete loss of the sense of justice, which 
in practical life means the promotion of the personal 
interests of its exponents. 

To remedy and, to a great extent, eliminate the 
miseries and discontent caused by misunderstanding 
or disagreement it is only necessary to observe that, 
in most cases, a misunderstanding or disagreement is 
in itself evidence that an agreement had previously 
existed, based upon terms satisfactorily agreed upon; 
in some instances, even, it gave proof of a perfect 
understanding originally between the now opposing 
parties. In such cases where no understanding or 
agreement had previously existed, there certainly 
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must or should be such principles as mankind in 
general adheres to. With this fact in view, it is 
impolitic and futile to make any attempt to clear up 
a misunderstanding, for if a remedy were found to 
eliminate it, it would only be transient; but it seems 
logical and serviceable to make every effort to clarify 
those principles, terms or points, adhered to in 
common by mankind, which were understood and 
agreed upon previously by the opposing parties, 
in order to arrive at a perfect understanding. And 
this renewed understanding by the opposing parties 
of things they commonly adhere to, must obviate the 
misunderstanding at issue and perhaps lead to its 
absolute elimination. Is it not of the utmost im¬ 
portance to have one ideal, one standard of justice 
acceptable to all men—at least to a great majority 
of men? 

Belief, Conviction and Faith 

BELIEF.accepting or admitting the 

truth of a thing without proof or reasoning 
(same as to confidence of men). 
CONVICTION. ... anything the truth of which 
can be substantiated through reasoning, seeing, 
or through the medium of any other of the 
human senses. 

FAITH.the truth of a thing which had 

already been substantiated. In other words, 
faith is derived of conviction. Not to mistake 
belief for faith, it is worth while to observe the 
following illustration from life. One who has 
been in the employ of another for a certain 
period of time, during which time he has been 
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tried on various occasions which proved him to 
be sincere, truthful, etc., is called a faithful 
servant, not a believable servant. In other 
words, after we are convinced of the virtues of 
a human being or of a cause, we know him to 
be faithful. 

Supplement to the Constitution of the U. S. 

What should be added to the Constitution of the 
U. S. in order to make Americanism not only a word 
denoting a democratic form of government, but also 
the ideal of mankind, is the decalogue, as proclaimed 
from Sinai, and to which a great part of mankind at 
least professes to adhere. It is: 

I AM JEHOVAH THY GOD. 

Thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image, 

.Thou shalt not bow thyself down 

to them, nor serve them, etc. 

Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah, thy God, 
in vain, etc. 

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. 

Honor thy father and thy mother. 

Thou shalt not kill. 

Thou shalt not commit adultery. 

Thou shalt not steal. 

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy 

neighbor. 

Thou shalt not covet. 

With the exception of the first commandment 
every human being is or can easily be enlightened 
to the point of conviction as to the indispensability 
of adherence to and practice of the entire list of 
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commandments. Not only have men of various 
religious beliefs accepted the truths of these laws 
and advocated their adherence, but even those who 
profess no religious faith, such as radicals of all 
kinds and even anarchists—not the apostles of 
violence but those of the idealistic type—could be 
brought to their thorough understanding. For, the 
claim of Anarchism that there shall be no form of 
government is only theoretic and Utopian, in the 
hope that mankind will some day reach such a high 
stage of civilization that no form of government 
will be necessary. Perhaps so, but surely mankind 
has not reached that stage of civilization yet; and 
in order that it should reach it, it is necessary at 
present to adhere strictly to these commandments 
willingly and wholeheartedly, until upright and 
moral living has become habitual and natural. 

Returning again to the first commandment, it is 
true that conviction can not be applied to it, so as 
to clarify such questions as, What is God? or Where 
is God? and other similar ones; for, one can either 
glean or present facts, as the case might be, as proof 
of the reality, confidence and truth of God, man, or 
cause. The point of conviction is, however, reached 
by the individual by the analysis of the facts to the 
satisfaction of his own conscience. Naturally, one 
cannot actually convince the other. But it must be 
admitted that when one is convinced of the validity 
and practicability of the subsequent nine command¬ 
ments, he is simultaneously faithful to Jehovah, the 
God, Who proclaimed the decalogue. The para¬ 
mount importance of always remembering and wor¬ 
shipping the name of Jehovah only is to prevent 

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the practice of idolatry, which is based upon belief 
and which is the cause of all sorts of fanaticism, as 
has been previously explained and as has been wit¬ 
nessed for centuries by all men. To this effect, the 
second commandment reads: “Thou shalt not make 

unto thyself any graven image, etc.” 

Besides, if God were to reveal himself at all times 
to every one just to satisfy the curious that is in 
man, the world, in fact life itself, would be rendered 
too prosaic and ideal-less. The divinity is the only 
eternal problem which shall forever occupy man’s 
mind, in accordance with one’s capacity for thought. 

In a word, Jehovah is the God or ideal of reason 
and conviction, and the laws which He has promul¬ 
gated for those created in His image, rest upon the 
same foundation. Therefore, one who asks others 
to believe in him, or advocates the belief in others, 
irrespective of saintly or spiritual status, is in viola¬ 
tion of the first and second commandments. To 
insure justice and happiness for mankind it is, there¬ 
fore, necessary to eradicate all sorts of belief and 
re-accept the decalogue, convinced of its indispensa¬ 
bility; and to bring all wrong deeds under the ban 
as violations of the commandments. The history 
of a two thousand year period of belief is disappoint¬ 
ing to all who engage in the study of it. For is it 
not as possible to disbelieve and be in fulfillment of 
the laws of man as to believe and be in violation 
of them? It is the moral side of religion that deter¬ 
mines one’s spiritual status. Spiritualism itself can¬ 
not be taught any more than one can teach intellec¬ 
tuality. The various subjects studied make up one’s 
intellectual status; and the practice of the moral code 
builds one’s spiritual status. 

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Amendment to the Decalogue. 

“Do whatever is just, but do not justify whatever 
you do,” is hereby suggested as an amendment to the 
commandments. Because every wrong, every crime 
committed has its justification. Ask the criminal 
and he will offer some reasons in justification of his 
crime. Of course, in all instances, the justification 
of a crime is as wrong as—perhaps more than—the 
crime itself; and it serves only to appease the con¬ 
science which is man’s greatest persecutor. The 
birth of a justification, in most cases, precedes the 
actual committal of the crime (otherwise, it would 
have not been committed), and in many instances 
it is formed after the crime. As a measure of pre¬ 
vention of the birth of such justification and its sub¬ 
sequent wrong deed or as an edifying means to 
teach repentance and the doing of penance after 
a crime has been committed and a justification 
formed, it is of the utmost importance to educate 
society not to justify its wrong deeds, in order to 
prevent their recurrence. For, if through circum¬ 
stances or formidable temptation one has committed 
a wrong deed, he should be fully conscious of its 
wrong; he should know there exists no justification 
whatever when it is in violation of any of the funda¬ 
mental laws of man or state; and should be sub¬ 
jected to the tortures of his own conscience. “Do 
whatever is just, but do not justify whatever you do.” 

The Bible and the Constitution of the U. S. 

The Bible is considered not only the grandest of 
all books, but also the most sacred. When one ex- 

17 


amines carefully the contents of the Constitution of 
the U. S., however, one will find the latter not less 
sacred. The Bible, with the exception of the ten 
commandments, is of no avail to the man of to-day; 
for the legends or the history of peoples who bear 
no relation to the present generation of mankind, 
the biographies of men who, though great in their 
day, reflect no influence upon the present, could not 
equal the noble yet rational doctrines of Americanism. 
Moreover, the liberties and equality of rights guar¬ 
anteed by the Constitution are far more liberal than 
any mentioned in the Bible. Also the guarantee 
extended to every individual in the pursuit of happi¬ 
ness contained in the Constitution is of no less worth 
than the exhortation to “Love they neighbor as thy¬ 
self,” which is considered the pedestal of the entire 
Bible. Nothing is holy unless man makes it so. 

Whatever measure of truth there may be in the 
belief that there is a certain measure of hypocrisy 
in every man, yet the preachers and ministers of re¬ 
ligion are, rightly or wrongly, considered to exhibit 
that failing, unconsciously, perhaps, more promi¬ 
nently than the layman. This accounts for the faint 
effect their preaching and teaching have upon the 
public. But there is still a great majority who have 
confidence in the superior American and even in the 
average American (except politicians), and who will, 
after readily listening to him, cheerfully comply with 
the fundamental laws when expounded by a fellow 
American along lines of sound sense and conviction. 

If we want to give a meaning to the term religion, 
so that it should be a credit to any one to claim it; 
if we want to unify mankind into one great family, 
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instead of being disintegrated into races, creeds, 
sects and denominations; if we want to eradicate 
belief, the cause of all sorts of fanaticism; if we want 
to eliminate the useless efforts of continually passing 
and enacting laws, which in reality are not favored 
by the majority, and accept anew the ten command¬ 
ments, which are recognized by all men; if we want 
to eliminate misunderstanding, the cause of almost 
all human misery and discontent; if we want to start 
an era of reason and conviction, instead of the 
bigoted two thousand year period of belief; if we 
want to be conscious of our wrong deeds and repent 
and do penance, instead of justifying them; if we 
want not only to revere, but also to sanctify the 
noble, yet rational doctrines of the Constitution of 
the U. S.; if we want to make this a period not only 
of reconstruction, but also of transformation; if we 
want to live up to the spirit of the present day as 
being the age of enlightenment; if we want to prove 
to the world that a true democracy is synonymous 
with the principles of theocracy; if we want to per¬ 
petuate the ideals of monotheism and Americanism, 
which would simultaneously obliterate all other non¬ 
desirable “isms,” let us all be enlightened and con¬ 
vinced that Jehovah is the God, Americanism the 
religion. 


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